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A prior question -- should I go to college? -- has a definitive economic answer. College may not be right for everyone, but many studies have demonstrated that simply possessing a baccalaureate degree typically means much higher earnings throughout one's life, a fact even clearer today than in previous generations.
But in a world that seems increasingly to equate learning and career preparation, many commentators are skeptical that students are acquiring the skills that will translate well into the marketplace. Two recent surveys of employers done by the Chronicle of Higher Education and the Workforce Solutions Group at St. Louis Community College, respectively, reveal their frustration with graduates who have not been adequately prepared for the job market.
These frustrations may not be what you think. Rather than lamenting the absence of technical or similar job-specific skills, many employers say that too many college graduates lack communication and decision-making ability, an understanding of how to think independently but also to work in teams, to solve complex problems and to construct cogent arguments.
They lack, we're told, an understanding of leadership, creativity, and emotional intelligence. In other words, it isn't primarily the "hard skills" that these graduates lack, but the so-called "soft skills.
Read more:
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thomas-a-kazee/liberal-education-soft-sk_b_5583044.html
A prior question -- should I go to college? -- has a definitive economic answer. College may not be right for everyone, but many studies have demonstrated that simply possessing a baccalaureate degree typically means much higher earnings throughout one's life, a fact even clearer today than in previous generations.
But in a world that seems increasingly to equate learning and career preparation, many commentators are skeptical that students are acquiring the skills that will translate well into the marketplace. Two recent surveys of employers done by the Chronicle of Higher Education and the Workforce Solutions Group at St. Louis Community College, respectively, reveal their frustration with graduates who have not been adequately prepared for the job market.
These frustrations may not be what you think. Rather than lamenting the absence of technical or similar job-specific skills, many employers say that too many college graduates lack communication and decision-making ability, an understanding of how to think independently but also to work in teams, to solve complex problems and to construct cogent arguments.
They lack, we're told, an understanding of leadership, creativity, and emotional intelligence. In other words, it isn't primarily the "hard skills" that these graduates lack, but the so-called "soft skills.
Read more:
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thomas-a-kazee/liberal-education-soft-sk_b_5583044.html